Battle of Chi Ceti: Difference between revisions

{{Era|HCW}}

{{battle

|next=[[Battle of Biko]]

|date=November 27th, [[2525]]  

*Covenant ship destroyed by 3 Spartan-II's

|side1=[[United Nations Space Command]]

|side2=[[Covenant]]

|forces1=*1 [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II]] [[fireteam]]

**[[Samuel-034]]

|forces2=*[[Unggoy]]

*[[Kig-Yar]]

**''[[Unrelenting]]''<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 286''</ref>

|casual1=*1 squadron of Longsword fighters

The '''Battle of Chi Ceti''' (later referred to as the '''Chi Ceti Incident''')<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"</ref> was fought between the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] and the [[Covenant]] early in the [[Human-Covenant War]]. Though it was a small scale engagement it marked the culmination of the [[SPARTAN-II program]] with the supersoldiers being united with the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV|MJOLNIR Mk. IV Powered Assault Armor]], and the combat debut of the potent combination.

The ''Commonwealth'' entered the system at 1750 hours, November 27, [[2525]]. The frigate detected the Covenant vessel ''[[Unrelenting]]'' as an intermittent sensor ghost at 80 million kilometers. This was far beyond the frigate's weapons range and [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Wallace]] saw no need for concern. However, Doctor Halsey warned of a possible enemy tactical Slipstream jump and the captain brought the ship to general quarters. The Spartans readied a [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelican]] and prepared to disembark.<ref name="FOR">'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''pages 102-119''</ref>

Halsey's warning was prescient. ''Unrelenting'' suddenly appeared {{Convert|3000|km|mi}} from ''Commonwealth'' and opened fire with pulse lasers. The frigate's communications dish was destroyed and its [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] disabled. ''Commonwealth'' returned fire with 180 [[Archer missile]]s; the vessel evaded half and the remainder failed to penetrate the shields. ''Unrelenting'' destroyed the frigate's navigation dish and caused further damage with lasers. In turn, a heavy [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC]] round penetrated the vessel's shields and struck its hull directly. The round crumpled the nose of the ship and caused some internal fires.<ref name="FOR"/>

As ''Commonwealth'' prepared another heavy round, ''Unrelenting'' charged a [[Plasma turret|plasma torpedo]]. Both fired nearly at once, and struck their targets. The frigate vented atmosphere to prevent the torpedo from causing catastrophic damage but the MAC gun was destroyed. The Covenant ship likewise survived the second MAC round but had a hole punched right through it.<ref name="FOR"/>

''Commonwealth'''s remaining option were three [[Shiva-class nuclear missile]]s, however the range was too short for those to be used safely. John-117 assessed the enemy's psychology and concluded the Covenant ship was likely to stop and engage any challenge. Wallace ordered Longsword Squadron Delta to occupy the vessel and launched a Shiva. In the meantime the frigate came about and executed a burn away toward [[Chi Ceti IV]]. The nuclear warhead destroyed the Longswords and further damaged ''Unrelenting''. The vessel subsequently disengaged.<ref name="FOR"/>

Although ''[[UNSC Commonwealth|Commonwealth]]'' hoped to rendezvous in orbit with the SPARTAN-IIs no later than 1900 hours, the supersoldiers were just finishing the 15 minute elevator ride down top the [[Damascus Materials Testing Facility]] at 1845 hours. Nonetheless, the Spartans were familiarized with and issued the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV|MJOLNIR Mk. IV Powered Assault Armor]] without incident; they prepared to return to the surface with Dr. Halsey and the facilities few remaining personnel for extraction.

[[File:Blue Team - Commonwealth 1.png|right|240px|thumb|Spartan-II's depart to infiltrate the ''Unrelenting''.]]

Chi Ceti IV and its facilities were successfully defended, but with considerable losses to the UNSC. The death of Samuel-034 would have a profound effect on his Spartan teammates for the rest of the war, and his command passed on to other Spartans in the ranks. However, the success of the battle ensured the continued survival of Chi Ceti IV and the Damascus Testing Facility, both of which are still intact and remain in operation in the postwar era.  

File:Sam nuke.jpg|Samuel-034 stays behind to detonate the nuke while his fellow Spartans flee the ''Unrelenting''.  

<references/>    

[[Category:UNSC Victories|Chi Ceti]]